Text A Thinking as a

Hobby

Text B The Pleasures of

Learning

现代大学英语
Unit College

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Contemporary College English
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William Golding

1 While I was still a boy, I came to the conclusion that there were three grades of thinking;
and that I myself could not think at all.

2 It
was the headmaster of my grammar school who first brought the subject of thinking before me. He had some statuettes in
They stood on a high cupboard behind his desk. One was a lady wearing nothing but a bath towel. She seemed frozen in
panic lest the bath towel slip down any farther; and since she had no arms, she was in an unfortunate position to pull the towe
Next to her, crouched the statuette of a leopard, ready to spring down at the top drawer of a filing cabinet. Beyond the leop
naked, muscular gentleman, who sat, looking down, with his chin on his fist and his elbow on his knee. He seemed utterly m

3 Some time later, I learned about these statuettes. The headmaster had placed them where they would face delinquent child
because they symbolized to him the whole of life.

Text A

Thinking as a Hobby
Unit 1The naked lady was Venus. She was Love. She was not worried about the towel. She was just busy being bea
leopard was Nature, and he was being natural. The muscular gentleman was not miserable. He was Rodin’s Thinker, a
thought.

4 I had better explain that I was a frequent visitor to the headmaster’s study, because of the latest thing I had done or left
 we now say, I was not integrated. I was, if anything, disintegrated. Whenever I found myself in a penal position before the h
desk I would sink my head, and writhe one shoe over the other.

5 The headmaster would look at me and say,

6 “What are we going to do with you?”

7 Well, what were they going to do with me? I would writhe my shoe some more and stare
down at the worn rug.

8 “Look up, boy! Can’t you look up?”

9Then I would look up at the cupboard, where the naked lady was frozen in her panic and the muscular gentleman conte
hindquarters of the leopard in endless gloom. I had nothing to say to the headmaster. His spectacles caught the light so tha
see nothing human behind them. There was no possibility of communication.

10 “Don’t you ever think at all?”

11 No, I didn’t think, wasn’t thinking, couldn’t think—I was simply waiting in anguish for the
interview to stop.

12 “Then you’d better learn—hadn’t you?”

13 On one occasion the headmaster leaped to his feet, reached up and put Rodin’s masterpiece
on the desk before me.

14 “That’s what a man looks like when he’s really thinking.”

15 Clearlythere was something missing in me. Nature had endowed the rest of the human race with a sixth sense and left
like someone born deaf, but bitterly determined to find out about sound, I began to watch my teachers to find out about tho

16 There was Mr Houghton. He was always telling me to think. With a modest satisfaction, he would tell me that he had t
himself. Then why did he spend so much time drinking? Or was there more sense in drinking than there appeared to be? Bu
if drinking were in fact ruinous to health—and Mr Houghton was ruined, there was no doubt about that—why was he alw
about the clean life and the virtues of fresh air?

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17 Sometimes, exalted by his own oratory, he would leap from his desk and hustle us outside
into a hideous wind.

18 “Now, boys! Deep breaths! Feel it right down inside you—huge draughts of God’s good
air!”

19He would stand before us, put his hands on his waist and take a tremendous breath. You could hear the wind, trapped in
and struggling with all the unnatural impediments. His body would reel with shock and his face go white at the unaccustomed
He would stagger back to his desk and collapse there, useless for the rest of the morning.

20 Mr Houghton was given to high-minded monologues about the good life, sexless and full of duty. Yet in the middl
monologues, if a girl passed the window, his neck would turn of itself and he would watch her out of sight. In this instance,
to me ruled not by thought but by an invisible and irresistible spring in his neck.

21 His neck was an object of great interest to me. Normally it bulged a bit over his collar. But Mr Houghton had fought i
World War alongside Americans and French, and had come to a settled detestation of both countries. If either happened to be
in current affairs, no argument could make Mr Houghton think well of it. He would bang the desk, his neck would bulge s
and go red. “You can say what you like,” he would cry, “but I’ve thought about this—and I know what I think!”

22 Mr Houghton thought with his neck.

23This was my introduction to the nature of what is commonly called thought. Through him I discovered that thought is of
unconscious prejudice, ignorance and hypocrisy. It will lecture on disinterested purity while its neck is being remorseless
toward a skirt. Technically, it is about as proficient as most businessmen’s golf, as honest as most politicians’ intentions, or a
as most books that get written. It is what I came to call grade-three thinking, though more properly, it is feeling, rather than

24 True, often there is a kind of innocence in prejudices, but in those days I viewed grade-three thinking with contempt and m
delighted to confront a pious lady who hated the Germans with the proposition that we should love our enemies. She taught
truth in dealing with grade-three thinkers; because of her, I no longer dismiss lightly a mental process which for nine ten
population is the nearest they will ever get to thought. They have immense solidarity. We had better respect them, f
outnumbered and surrounded. A crowd of grade-three thinkers, all shouting the same thing, all warming their hands at the f
own prejudices, will not thank you for pointing out the
Unit 1contradictions in their beliefs. Man enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way on the side of a hill

25 Grade-two thinking is the detection of contradictions. Grade-two thinkers do not stampede easily, though often they fall in
fault and lag behind. Grade-two thinking is a withdrawal, with eyes and ears open. It destroys without having the power to
me watching the crowds cheering His Majesty the King and asking myself what all the fuss was about, without giving m
positive to put in the place of that heady patriotism. But there were compensations. To hear people justify their habit of hu
by claiming that the foxes liked it. To hear our Prime Minister talk about the great benefit we conferred on India by jailing
Nehru and Gandhi. To hear American politicians talk about peace and refuse to join the League of Nations. Yes, there we
of delight.

26But I was growing toward adolescence and had to admit that Mr Houghton was not the only one with an irresistible s
neck. I, too, felt the compulsive hand of nature and began to find that pointing out contradiction could be costly as well as
was Ruth, for example, a serious and attractive girl. I was an atheist at the time. And she was a Methodist. But, alas, instea
 on the Holy Spirit to convert me, Ruth was foolish enough to open her pretty mouth in argument. She claimed that the Bible w
inspired. I countered by saying that the Catholics believed in the literal inspiration of Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and the two
different. Argument flagged.

27 Atlast she remarked that there were an awful lot of Methodists, and they couldn’t be wrong, could they—not all those mi
was too easy, said I restively (for the nearer you were to Ruth, the nicer she was to be near to) since there were more Roma
than Methodists anyway; and they couldn’t be wrong, could they—not all those hundreds of millions? An awful flick
appeared in her eyes. I slid my arm around her waist and murmured that if we were counting heads, the Buddhists were t
my money. She fled. The combination of my arm and those countless Buddhists was too much for her.

28 That night her father visited my father and left, red-cheeked and indignant. I was given the third degree to find out what ha
I lost Ruth and gained an undeserved reputation as a potential libertine.

29 Grade-two thinking, though it filled life with fun and excitement, did not make for content. To find out the deficiencies o
satisfies the young ego but does not make for personal security. It took the swimmer some distance from the shore and lef
out of his depth. A typical grade-two thinker will say, “What is truth?” There is still a higher grade of thought which say
truth?” and sets out to find it.

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30 Butthese grade-one thinkers were few and far between. They did not visit my grammar school in the flesh though they we
books. I aspired to them, because I now saw my hobby as an unsatisfactory thing if it went no further. If you set out to climb a
however high you climb, you have failed if you cannot reach the top.

31I therefore decided that I would be a grade-one thinker. I was irreverent at the best of times. Political and religious syste
customs, loyalties and traditions, they all came tumbling down like so many rotten apples off a tree. I came up in the end
must always remain the justification for grade-one thinking. I devised a coherent system for living. It was a moral system,
wholly logical. Of course, as I readily admitted, conversion of the world to my way of thinking might be difficult, since my s
away with a number of trifles, such as big business, centralized government, armies, marriage...

32 It was Ruth all over again. I had some very good friends who stood by me, and still do. But my acquaintances vanished,
girls with them. Young people seemed oddly contented with the world as it was. A young navy officer got as red-necked as Mr
when I proposed a world without any battleships in it.

33 Had the game gone too far? In those prewar days, I stood to lose a great deal, for the sake
of a hobby.

34 Now you are expecting me to describe how I saw the folly of my ways and came back to the warm nest, where prejudices
loyalties, pointless actions are turned into customs by repetition, and we are content to say we think when all we do is feel.

35 But you would be wrong. I dropped my hobby and turned professional. (1,927 words)

Notes on the Text

1. About the author

William Golding (1911–1993) was a British writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983, and who is known espec
his novel Lord of the Flies. Golding was born in Cornwall and educated at Brasenose College, Oxford. Before World W
worked as a writer, actor, and producer with small theatre companies and as a teacher. During the war he served in the Roy
He returned to writing and teaching after the war. Lord of the Flies did not appear until 1954 and was an immediate succ
intrinsic cruelty of man is at the heart of many of Golding’s novels. He often presents isolated individuals or small groups in
situations dealing with man in his basic condition stripped of trappings, creating the quality of a fable. His novels are remar
their strikingly varied settings.
Unit 12. Venus (para. 3)
It refers to the goddess of beauty and love in Roman mythology, but here it refers to the Greek statue of the goddess that ca
in the Louvre in Paris. It is badly damaged and is famous for having no arms.

3. Rodin’s Thinker (para. 3)

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was a French sculptor, considered to be one of the greatest sculptors of his time, whose most f
works are The Thinker and The Kiss.

4. Mr Houghton was given to high-minded monologues about the good life,

sexless and full of duty. (para. 20) Traditionally Christians emphasized such moral principles as duty, discip
 thrift and hard work, and sex was considered to be the original sin. Some religious sects even regarded sex as the

all evils and practiced strict celibacy (独身生活).

5. I delighted to confront a pious lady who hated the Germans with the
proposition that we should love our enemies. (para. 24) The author is teasing this lady that she is being inc
A pious Christian should love all people including the enemy, according to the Bible.

6. patriotism (para. 25)

Patriotism is usually considered positive and complimentary, but what happened in World War II made many people rea
could be used to cover up many immoral actions in international situations as well as in political life at home. Therefor
author here, they tended to use the term sarcastically.

7. their habit of hunting foxes (para. 25)

Foxhunting takes place in the UK between November and early spring. The horse riders usually wear red coats, and t
controlled by the Master of Foxhounds—dogs specially trained to track down and kill foxes. Foxhunting is thought of as a
rich people who own land in the countryside. Many people think that foxhunting is cruel and want parliament to pass a law
but foxhunters argue that it helps to control the number of foxes.

8. To hear our Prime Minister talk about the great benefit we conferred on India
by jailing people like Nehru and Gandhi. (para. 25) India was ruled by Britain from 1757 to 1947. Gandhi (1
1948) and Nehru (1889– 1964) were both leaders of the Free-India Movement which aimed at winning national independen
India through non-violent civil-disobedience. In the course of this struggle, they were jailed by the British government seve
But their efforts finally brought about the independence of India on August 15, 1947.

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9. To hear American politicians talk about peace and refuse to join the League of
Nations. (para. 25) The idea of having an association of nations to maintain world peace and promote international coo
was first put forward by Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points, a speech to Congress in January, 1918, and largely due to
influence, was accepted as part of the Treaty of Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference. The League of Nations thus organi
however was crippled by the refusal of the US to participate as a result of the opposition movement led by Wilson’s bitter po
enemy Henry C. Lodge. (By that time Wilson’s health had broken down and in fact he was dying.) The organization was dis
when it failed to act against the German, Japanese, and Italian aggression. It was formally disbanded in April, 1946. Howeve
historians today believe that as the predecessor of the United Nations, it was not a complete failure. The author here of cours
ridiculing the hypocrisy of American politicians.

10. the Holy Spirit (para. 26)

In the Christian religion, the Holy Spirit refers to God in the form of spirit.

11. Saint Jerome’s Vulgate (para. 26)

This is the Latin translation of the Bible made by Saint Jerome at the end of the fourth century A.D. It is now used in a revis
as the Roman Catholic Authorized Version.

12. Figures of speech and rhetorical devices 修辞手法

They are words and expressions used in special ways to provide emphasis, freshness of expression or clarity. When used appro
they can make the language more interesting, persuasive, and powerful. There are many such figures of speech and rhetorica
in English (one scholar enumerated 184 of them during the Renaissance), some of which have already been introduced to the
this textbook series, such as: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, rhyme, satire, irony, euphemism, ox
onomatopoeia, inversion. We are going to introduce more:
1) anaphora: repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive
clauses 2) anticlimax: arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance 3) antithesis: juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting
4) assonance: repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse 5) climax: arrangement of words
of increasing importance 6) consonance: repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage or
verse 7) polyptoton: repetition of words derived from the same root
8) allusion: indirect reference to another work of literature or art 9) antiphrasis: word or words used contradictory to their usual meanin
irony 10) hyperbole: use of exaggerated terms for emphasis 11) meiosis: use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of s
metonymy: substitution of a word to suggest what is really meant 13) parable: extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or tea
lesson 14) paradox: use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth 15) pun: play on words that will have two m
synecdoche: form of metonymy, in which a part stands for the whole 17) transferred epithet: placing of an adjective with what appears
incorrect noun
Glossary
anguish /9{ÎgwIS/ n. (fml) severe pain, mental suffering or unhappiness aspire /@9spaI@(r)/ v. to have a strong desire to achi
become sth;
~ to sth 渴望得到某物;有志成就某事 atheist /9eITIIst/ n. a person who believes that God does not exist bitterly /9bIt@(r)lI/ adv
unpleasant or sad feelings) extremely bulge /bˆldZ/ v. to stick out from sth in a round shape Catholic /9k{T@lIk/ n. a member
Catholic Church costly /9kÁstlI/ adj. causing people to lose sth or to suffer deficiency /dI9fISFnsI/ n. a fault in sth/sb that ma
good enough delinquent /dI9lIÎkw@nt/ adj. (esp. of young people or their behavior) showing a tendency
to commit crimes 有违法倾向的 detestation /8di:te9steISFn/ n. (noun of detest) strong hatred devise /dI9vaIz/ v. to invent sth
way of doing sth disintegrated adj. the state of being apart or in pieces (Note: This word is /dIs9IntIgreItId/ not used here in it
The author uses it for humor. ) disinterested adj. not influenced by personal feelings, or by the chance of
/dIs9Int@rIstId/ getting some advantage for yourself 客观的;无私的;公正的 draught /dr{ft/ n. (AmE also draft) a flow of cool a
other enclosed
space exalt /Ig9zO:lt/ v. to excite fault /fO:lt/ n. the fact of being responsible for a bad or unpleasant situation
or a weakness in one’s character file /faIl/ n. sth that is placed in an official record; a filing cabinet: a
Unit 19
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cabinet for storing files in alphabetical order fuss /fˆs/ n. unnecessary excitement, worry or activ
/9hedI/ adj. (of a person) excited in a way that makes you do things
without worrying about the possible results hideous /9hIdI@s/ adj. extremely unpleasant or ugly
high-minded adj. (of people or ideas) having strong moral principles

/9haI9maIndId/ hindquarters n. the back part of a four-legged animal, including its two back /9haInd8kwO:t@(r)z/ legs (四
的)臀部及后腿 hustle /9hˆsl/ v. to make sb move quickly by pushing them in a rough

aggressive way hypocrisy /hI9pÁkr@sI/ n. (disapproving) behavior in which sb pretends to have moral

standards or opinions that they do not actually have 伪善;虚伪 impediment n. sth that delays or st
progress of sth; ~ to sth ......的障碍

/Im9pedIm@nt/ league /li:g/ n. a collection of people, countries, or groups that combine for a particular purpose, typically
protection or cooperation; League of Nations 国际联盟 leopard /9lep@d/ n. a large animal of the cat family that has yello
brown fur
with black spots lest /lest/ conj. (old-fashioned) used to introduce the reason for the

particular emotion or action mentioned 唯恐;担心 libertine /9lIb@ti:n/ n. (fml, disapproving) a person, usu. a man, who

immoral life and is interested in pleasure, esp. sexual pleasure majesty /9m{dZ@stI/ n. (His/Her/Y
Majesty) a title of respect used when speaking
about or to a king, queen, emperor and empress masterpiece /9m{st@pi:s/ n. the best book, painting, movie, piece of m
by a
particular person Methodist /9meT@dIst/ n. a member of a Christian Protestant Church that broke away

from the Church of England in the 18th century 循道宗信徒 monologue /9mÁn@lÁg/ n. a long speech by one person
conversation that stops other people from speaking or expressing an opinion 一个人滔滔 不绝的讲话 muscular /9mˆsk
adj. (also infml muscly) having large strong muscles navy /9neIvI/ n. the part of a country’s armed forces that fights at se
ships that it uses oratory /9O:r@tO:rI/ n. the skill of making powerful and effective speeches in pu
outnumber /8aUt9nˆmb@(r)/ v. to be greater in number than sb/sth

Preview
1 Read the text carefully and answer the following questions.
1. Do you like this essay? Give one good reason no matter what your answer may be. 2. Why do you think the author wrote this e
describe his troubled childhood? To
penal /9pi:nFl/ adj. relating to punishment, esp. by law pious /9paI@s/ adj. deeply religious 虔诚的 proficient /pr@U9fISFnt
sth well because of training and practice prominent /9prÁmIn@nt/ adj. easily seen reel /ri:l/ v. to move or walk in a very unste
is drunk or
sick or shocked remorselessly adv. mercilessly, having or showing no pity or sympathy; (here)
/rI9mO:slIslI/ continuing in a way that seems impossible to stop restively /9restIvlI/ adv. impatiently; becoming difficult to con
/9rÁtFn/ adj. (of food, wood, etc.) badly decayed (therefore cannot be
eaten or used) rug /rˆg/ n. a piece of thick material like a small carpet that is used for
covering or decorating part of a floor 小地毯;垫子 ruinous /9rUIn@s/ adj. causing or likely to cause damage or destru
 /8sÁlI9d{r@tI/ n. support by one person or group of people for another because they share feelings, opinions, aims, etc.; ~ into
力;相互支持 spectacles /9spekt@klz/ n. (pl.) (fml) glasses spring /sprIÎ/ n. (here) a twisted or coiled piece of metal that return
original shape when pressed down or stretched 弹簧 statuette /8st{tSU9et/ n. a small statue 小雕像;小塑像 symbolize /9sImbF
symbol of (sth) trifle /9traIfl/ n. sth that is not valuable or important unaccustomed adj. (usu. before noun) not usual, normal
/8ˆn@9kˆst@md/ undeserved adj. that sb does not deserve and therefore unfair 不应得的;冤
/8ˆndI9zÆ:vd/ 枉的;不公正的 writhe /raID/ v. to twist or move your body without stopping, often because
you are in great pain
Unit 111
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make fun of some of his teachers in his grammar school? To entertain his readers with his humorous anecdotes? To tell
how his hobby of thinking cost him his girl friend and made him a misfit in society? To make young people see the imp
thinking? Or what? 3. How does the author classify thinking? 4. How does the author define the three grades of thinking
examples of what these three grades of thinkers would be like today in our country. Which of the three grades do you th
belong to? 5. Can you think of one good question about thinking that you would like to bring up for
class discussion?

2 Do the following exercises.

1 Give the corresponding nouns of the following words.

exalt 9. withdraw
1. muscular 2.
10. mock 11.
delinquent 3.
deficient 12.
prominent 4.
compensate
proficient 5.
frequent 6. penal
7. immense 8. 2 Study how these words are formed.

1. statuette; cigarette; kitchenette 2. outnumber; outdistance; outweigh; outwit; outsmart; outlast 3. propose; proposit
compose; composition; dispose; disposition; impose;
imposition; expose; exposition; pose; position 4. contradict; contradiction; predict; prediction; verdict; diction; dictionary; dic
dictator; dictatorship

3 Translate the following sentences, paying special attention to the meanings of the

words in bold type.

1. It was just a slip of the tongue, but it cost him his government position. 2. Her spirits flagged when she heard that
university did not confer the PhD degree
to her son. 3. The picture showed her waving the national flag, proud and content after the race. 4. The movie was banned be
they claimed that it had objectionable content
Unit 1against their race. 5. When he conferred with his cabinet members he would not discuss these trifles of
course. 6. My modest proposal is written on this slip of paper. Give it to her when you see her. 7. Some people objected stron
most people of Troy decided to take the wooden horse into the city. They never guessed that in this strange object
hidden enemy soldiers. 8. I think that teachers should be more modestly dressed when they go to the classroom.
Your dress is a trifle too loud.

4 The following sentences contain a new figure of speech called “synecdoche,” in

which a part stands for the whole. Identify them and guess what they stand for.

1. It will lecture on disinterested purity while its neck is being remorselessly twisted
 toward a skirt. 2. Ever since he was young his mind was set to go after the White House. 3. The Kremlin is still strongly again
international sanctions. 4. It never occurred to him that the pen could be mightier than the sword. 5. The meal cost
thousand dollars per head. 6. Political scientists differ in their view about the source of power. Some believe that po
power comes from the barrel of a gun, while others believe that it comes from people’s will. Their slogan is “Ballo
than bullet.” 7. Many young people are struggling to have a roof over their heads. 8. We need more hands if we wa
the job in time.

Speaking

1 Work in pairs and exchange your views on the following questions.

1. Was the author known as a thinking boy when he was at grammar school? What kind of a boy was he? Why was he
visitor to the headmaster’s office? Was he really disintegrated as he said he was? 2. Why did the school headmaster ke
three statuettes in his office? Did they indicate in some way how he understood education? Did the boy know what the
supposed to mean? What did he take them for?

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3. Did the school succeed in helping the boy to think? Why or why not? Don’t you think it
a bit too early for school to try to make kids think? 4. What finally made the boy decide to learn to think as a hobby? How did
about it? 5. Why does the author tell those funny anecdotes about Mr Houghton? What is the problem with that teacher?
author making fun of him because he is always attracted by pretty girls? Or because he is an obvious alcoholic? Or beca
does not like the Americans and the French? What does the author mean when he says that Mr Houghton “thought with
neck”? What is the point he is trying to make? 6. How does the author define grade-three thinking? Does he think highl
grade-three thinkers? What kind of feelings does he reveal when he describes them as cows that “graze all the same way
side of a hill” or people who are always shouting the same thing and “warming their hands at the fire of their own preju
But if he is showing his contempt and mockery, why does he say “we’d better respect them” because they have “immen
solidarity”? 7. What is a typical grade-two thinker like according to the author? What happens when he manages to beco
grade-two thinker himself? What new thoughts does he have on various subjects? Does he stand to gain or lose by being
two thinker? What disadvantages? Any compensations? 8. Why does the author decide to become a grade-one thinker?
he distinguish grade-one thinking from grade-two thinking? He says that all grade-one thinkers must develop a coheren
for living? What does he mean by this? What system? Why coherent? Can you guess what his beliefs, values, and ideas
some of the most important problems in his day? Judging by the fact that he was considered critical in his thinking his t
must have been very different from those prevailing at the time. How would you define his system?

2 Give a two-minute talk on one of the following topics.

1. What did the author learn from Mr Houghton about thinking? 2. How did the author lose his girl friend and what was
lesson he learned from this? 3. What moments of delight did his grade-two thinking give him? 4. How does the author
classify thinking? Where do you think you belong?

3 Comment on any one of the following statements.

1. Anyone who has begun to think places some portion of the world in jeopardy.
—John Dewey
Unit 12. A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. —William
all men think alike, no one thinks very much. —Walter Lippmann 4. If you are afraid of being lonely, don’t try to b
Renard 5. It is nonsense to say there is not enough time to be fully informed... Time given to thought is the greatest t
—Norman Cousins 6. All good things which exist are the fruits of originality. —John Stuart Mill 7. The minority is
at the beginning. —Herbert V. Prochnow 8. Thought makes the whole dignity of man; therefore endeavor to think
only morality. —Blaise Pascal 9. Sixty minutes of thinking of any kind is bound to lead to confusion and unh
—James Thurber 10. It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas
—John Kenneth Galbraith 11. The strongest bulwark of authority is uniformity; the least divergence from it is the gre
—Emma Goldman 12. My guess is that well over 80 percent of the human race goes through life without having a sin
thought. —Henry Lou

4 Discuss the following questions in groups.

1. Why is it that most people are grade-three thinkers who actually do not think? 2. Why is it that grade-one thinkers a
far between”? 3. There is an old saying that two heads are better than one, which suggests that the majority’s collective
 always dwarfs that of the minority, let alone any individual. But many people do not agree with this. Like the author, t
no respect for majority’s wisdom. They believe that most people do not usually use their heads, and therefore are igno
prejudiced and often become mobs and stampede easily. What do you think of these two views? 4. There are people w
that for a society to cohere there must be a strong consensus as well as unity and discipline. Therefore we must not
overemphasize the importance of critical thinking which is bound to result in confusion and quarrels. Do you agree?

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起十分重要的作用 12. 解决这个问题
Vocabular
Into Chinese
y 1. the eternal truth 2. a filing
cabinet 3. utter nonsense 4.
delinquent behavior 5. a
1 Translate the following frequent visitor 6. fresh air 7.
expressions. high-minded monologue 8. a
settled view 9. a speech
Into English impediment 10. a hideous wind
11. heady patriotism 12. the
1. 猛然敲门 2. 向国王陛下欢 remorseless invaders 13. the
Prime Minister 14. a mental
呼 3. 凝视那雕像 4. 设计 /
process 15. the League of
发明一种新方法 5. 获得一种 Nations 16. a coherent article
17. a proficient interpreter 18.
名声 6. 鼓舞人民
an irresistible trend 19. rotten
7. 低下头 8. 象征 / 代表国家 9. 暖和双手 apples 20. a nodding
acquaintance
10. 毁了某人的健康 11. 扮演重要的角色 /

2 Replace the parts in bold type with appropriate words and expressions from the
text.

1. The movie completely turned me off. I had never seen so much money wasted on such
garbage. 2. She was in the habit of buying all sorts of things just for the fun of it. 3. I finally saw the stupidity of overeati
decided to diet, but this time I went to the
other extreme. I did reduce my food, but I overdid it. 4. The news was a terrible blow. Her mind reeled with shock. She stag
back, sank
into her sofa and started moaning in great pain. 5. He tried to defend his development plan saying that it would make the are
prosperous,
Unit 1but she argued that it would not. On the contrary, it would destroy the local economy. 6. Money worship will not d
automatically. We have to fight it and find
something positive to replace it in our moral education. 7. Even in his last days he still believed that his people would be wit
he openly
insulted and ridiculed those who opposed him. 8. Most people in their forties would remember the days when to say somebo
would be regarded as an unmistaken compliment because it represented wealth and happiness. But today many peop
constant fear that they or their children might be overweight. 9. I consider it a crime to teach racial hatred in class. W
ignore this kind of practice. I remember a man who once made hundreds of students repeat loudly sentences he had pr
including “Kill the... (people of a certain country).” Now if this was allowed to continue and influence our young stude
day Nazism might come again. 10. These endless examinations and tests must be unbearable to the kids who have c
 minds, but most of them would not be lucky enough to beat the system. I agree that geniuses are not rare; what are ra
geniuses to recognize geniuses.

3 Translate the following sentences into English.

1. 我知道,不管发生什么情况,我都可以依靠兄弟的支持。 2. 一般说来,年轻一代与老一辈不同,他们对现在而不
更感兴趣。但这两

代人如果不互相尊重对方的需要,就都会遭受损失。 3. 中国的书面文字是国家完整统一的一个重要因素。 4. 在中国的

和文学中,竹子和松树往往象征着道德上的正直和刚正不阿。 5. 女皇伊丽莎白一世统治英国 45 年。在她统治
十分繁荣昌盛。 6. 民主意味着多数人来治理;但不仅如此,尊重少数人反对的权利也是民主不可分

的一部分。这两条规则同等重要。 7. 一个国家不可能强大,除非她不但在地理上,而且在政治、经济和文化上都是一

个整体。 8. 晚会十分乏味,所以他就偷偷溜出房间回家了。可是雨后的路非常泥泞,他脚下

一滑,掉进了沟里。 9. 她身体糟糕到了这种程度,以至于冬天都不敢见太阳,怕中暑。 10. 有一天晚上,我正在一家小饭馆

愁,他突然走了过来,往我手里塞了一

沓钞票。

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Contemporary College English
18
4 Fill in the blanks with appropriate words or expressions.

1. People who are such great talents are .

A. conferred on, few and far between B. blessed with, few and rare C. endowed with, few and far between D. gifted w
and rare between 2. He was obsessed with money and fame. Throughout his life, he was either
busy money or busy important. A. nothing but, making, being B. neither, making, being C. both, with, being D. just, to
be 3. She that position in the company, and she felt she was qualified, ,
overqualified. A. desired for, on the contrary B. aspired to, if anything C. conspired for, in fact D. aspired for, or more
4. The people had a hard life even . So they were when the area was
hit by the terrible earthquake. A. at the worst of times, in real anguish B. at the best of times, in real anguish C. under n
conditions, in desperate gloom D. without natural disasters, in hopeless despair 5. We can’t examination not because it
best system, but rather because
we have not a better way to evaluate students. A. do away, come up with B. do away from, come across with C. do aw
come up with D. do away to, come across 6. Their government said that they had to use force to maintain social stabili
many
people that it wouldn’t stability and harmony. A. contradicted them by saying, make B. countered by
saying, make for C. opposed by saying, make up D. objected by saying, result to
Unit 17. We still many advanced countries in environmental protection, but today we face a wonderful opportunity
problem, and we must not let the opportunity . A. lag behind, slip by B. have lagged after, slip away C. have left behi
have been lagged behind, slip off 8. The professor knew that some students are given to over-quoting in their paper, b
He simply downloaded a whole essay from the Website as his own. This was the professor. A. went too far away, too
went far, too much to C. went too extreme, too much of D. went too far, too much for 9. The sudden bankruptcy of th
giants threw the investors and
caused them to . A. in panic, stampede B. in confusion, flee the stock market C. in despair, hold their stocks firmly in t
D. in pain, vote by foot 10. Once the war decision was made, they immediately allies who would
rain or shine. A. set out to find, stand by B. set out finding, stand beside
C. set to finding, stand behind D. set off to find, stand with

5 Choose the right words in their proper forms.

1 sex; sexual; sexy; sexist

1. She is not what you might call a woman, but she has great charm
and is a great actor. 2. She is one of the pioneers in the study of behavior. 3. In some circles, the traditional attitude toward wo
coming
back. They believe that women’s proper domain is in the kitchen. 4. Times have changed. Today relations are openly discusse
schools.

19
Contemporary College English
20
2 disinterested; uninterested

1. The law says that the jury must consist of people. 2. No matter how they tried to win the support of the people, mo
remained
. 3. To be does not necessarily mean to be uninterested.

3 literal; literary; literate

1. “Have you eaten your meal?” in Chinese is only a greeting. We must not translate it
in English. 2. Poor as the country was, more than ninety percent of the population was . 3. It is ridiculous to
person can’t comment on an omelet unless he can lay an egg. For the same reason we can’t say a critic can’t criticize
Shakespeare if he can’t write better than Shakespeare. 4. It is said that Lu Xun strongly advised his son not to pursue
career. 5. Christian fundamentalists believe that it was the truth how God
created the world as described in the Bible.

4 bulge; protrude; stick; jut; swell

1. Before the eruption of the volcano, people noticed a at the top of the
mountain. 2. I didn’t notice that there was a nail of the chair when I sat on it. It
tore my best pants. 3. A woman carrying three bundles tried to get on the train in front of
me. 4. The man with a forehead and teeth had a
in his pocket. This immediately roused the guard’s suspicion. 5. A rock of the ground tripped him. He fell and hit hi
on a
stone. That’s how he got this big . 6. There was a huge rock over the cliff, overlooking the deep valley
below.

5 slip; slide; glide

1. Canadians living in that area often wear snowshoes in winter to avoid . 2. He quickly down the tree when the bear
of sight.
Unit 13. It’s a lot of fun down the sand hill. It has become quite a tourist
attraction. 4. The police assured the public that they would not let the chain killer
through their fingers again this time. 5. In the distance, a few fishing boats could be seen over the lake and
also were the birds in the sky.

6 reputation; prestige

1. He had a for his dirty tricks and ruthlessness. 2. To defend his , Mei Lanfang refused to perform for the occupyin
 troops. 3. He has a poor among farmers. I don’t think he can win many of their
votes.

6 Fill in the blanks with suitable words to make the sentences ironical.

Example She was as Robust as Sister Lin in Dream of the Red Chamber.

1. I was really impressed. He sang as as a crow when half choked. 2. Yes, he is as as a copying machine. 3. The steak
plate was so I could see through it. 4. I was surprised to find his room as as a pigsty. 5. He was as as my rundown wa
late by ten minutes. 6. We waited for him to make up his mind, but he turned out to be as as
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. 7. The pancake had gone dry and was as as a regular brick. 8. This millionaire proved to be a
church mouse. 9. He ruled the country for about 40 years and was said to be as as Evan
the Terrible, the first Russia Tsar. 10. It’s amazing how these countries can so quickly from affluence to
poverty.

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Contemporary College English
22

Grammar

1 Learn to use the present/past continuous tense with adverbs of frequency and
find out which of the following sentences imply disapproval or annoyance.
talking about the clean life and the virtu
to emphasize how often the action takes
disapproval or annoyance)

We are constantly trying to avoid those who would coerce us,

manipulate us or use us. (para. 8, Unit 13, Book 3) For example, if you
want me around too much, I claim you stifle me, but if you aren’t
constantly giving me attention, I may claim you don’t love me. (para.
Examples
10, Unit 13, Book 3) (used just to emphasize how often the action
He was always telling me to think. (para. 16) ... why was he always
takes/took place)

1. The people living above our apartment are frequently moving things about in the
middle of the night, interrupting our sleep. 2. The direction of the wind was constantly changing, and we found it far more
exhilarating cycling against it than with it. 3. Both parties are always saying that they want to help the underprivileged, but ne
keeps their promise. 4. The dogs are always rubbing against the wall. Look at the dirty marks they’ve made. 5. These country
financial situation is constantly improving thanks to the support
of the local government. 6. The scenery is constantly changing, and there is always something different to see. 7. He is consta
learning and striving to improve to keep up with the changing world. 8. Our department head’s continually changing h
and making last-minute
decisions. It’s a nightmare working with him. 9. The boy has a bad cold and was repeatedly wiping his runny nose with the ba
hand. 10. The speaker was frequently contradicting himself, often ending up saying nothing. The
presentation was a total disaster.
Unit 12 Learn the uses of being.
1. Study the uses of being in the following sentences and put each into a category
listed below.
As participle
23 ➊ In the present/past continuous tense of be: am/are/is/was/were +
being, e.g. She was just busy being beautiful. (para. 3)
➋ In the passive form of the present/past continuous tense: am/are/
is/was/were + being + past participle, e.g. It will lecture on disinterested purity while its neck is being remorselessly twisted tow
(para. 23)
➌ In the participle phrase of being + past participle (shorted form of a relative clause where a passive continuous tense is us
statement can be faulted on the grounds that it is inaccurate; at the same time, however, neither is sufficient as an explanation of
considered (which/that is being considered). (para. 11, Unit 11, Book 3)
As gerund
➍ As object of verbs (including phrasal verbs), e.g.
Come on, he didn’t mean you. Let’s stop being so sensitive. (para. 56, Unit 16, Book 3) He couldn’t be talking about being frigh
Orlando at night, because what more could one mean than just that? (para. 76, Unit 15, Book 3)
➎ As object of preposition, e.g.
Wouldn’t he be afraid of being caught? (para. 126, Unit 16, Book 3) In the end, you might argue that the ultimate cause of your
the fact that you were born, but obviously this goes too far back to be meaningful. (para. 11, Unit 11, Book 3)
1. The leopard was Nature, and he was being natural. (para. 3) 2. Maybe the boy did kill his father, did run out in a panic, did cal
hours after the killing to come back to get the knife, risking being caught. (para. 134, Unit 16, Book 3)
Contemporary College English
24
3. And I thought the whole thing was mad, and getting beyond me, with me a black stranger being shown a testim
the son of the house... (para. 51, Unit 15, Book 3) 4. “You know,” he said, “about our land being beautiful?” (para
15, Book 3) 5. What is local and familiar is suddenly being replaced or, assaulted by something that
is foreign and unfamiliar. (para. 31, Unit 9, Book 3) 6. “I’m being buried today,” she declared briskly, as though announcing a
important
social event. (para. 8, Unit 8, Book 3) 7. Instinctively, I wanted to break free, and cease being a creature defined by her time.
(para. 52, Unit 8, Book 3) 8. And of how I was so miserable that I ran away and lived under a cart in our yard for
two days without being discovered. (para. 47, Unit 3, Book 3) 9. Nothing had changed since I was a solitary child being given
bookmarks by
relatives for Christmas. (para. 15, Unit 2, Book 3) 10. My high school friends used to call me Mr Punctuality, but they were b
ironic,
for I was habitually late for class. 11. My great grandparents are much admired for being both mentally and physically
active in their 90s. 12. Food being shipped to flood-stricken areas in Southeast Asia comes from all corners
of the world.

2 Complete each of the sentences by putting the verb in brackets in the proper form.

1. When asked about his act of heroism, the young man said, “I can’t turn a blind eye
when someone (rob).” 2. The boy resolved to keep back his tears before the strangers. However, they
(be) so kind and concerned that he broke down and cried. 3. The majority of the people there feel that not enough
protect
the local wild life. 4. At the age of 92, she still remembers (be) a rather bossy little girl. 5. Efforts (make) to avert war through
diplomatic channels and bring
the countries back to the negotiating table. 6. The drivers struck up a conversation with the mechanic while his jeep
(repair). 7. Several times at the dinner table he tried to stop me, saying I (be)
unbearably talkative. 8. The high-speed railway line (build), when completed, will be the
fastest in the country.
Unit 19. On important occasions, he’s always polite without (be) humble. 10. The company spokesman complained about the
(exaggerate) by the media.

3 Translate the sentences into English, using being.

1. 他因收受贿赂而正在接受调查。 2. 政府开始向被洪水围困的地区空投食品。 3. 人们十分关注善款现在是

的。 4. 出于安全的原因,这些实验室的具体地址保密。 5. 吉姆今天是怎么回事?我觉得他相当粗鲁,一反常态
的公安局因对白领犯罪手软而受到批评。 7. 汽车事故调查者受到指责说他偏向肇事者。 8. 项目协调人抱怨
 一半时间都花在开会和写报告上。 9. 他最近写的小说正被改编成电视剧。这部小说已上《纽约时报》畅销书
10. 发言人断然否认了当前流行的关于总统健康问题的种种谣传。

3 Study the grammatical structure of these involved sentences.

1. She seemed frozen in an eternal panic lest the bath towel slip down any farther; and since she had no arms, she was
unfortunate position to pull the towel up again. (para. 2) 2. It set me watching the crowds cheering His Majesty the Kin
asking myself what all the fuss was about, without giving me anything positive to put in the place of that heady patriot
25)

4 Translate the selection into Chinese.

What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army I received a kind of aptitude1 test that all soldiers took and, against
100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It
anything. The next day I was still made a buck private with KP2 as my highest duty.)
All my life I’ve been registering scores like that3, so that I have the complacent4 feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I e
people to think so, too. Actually, though, don’t such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type o
questions

1 aptitude: natural ability or skill, esp. in learning 2 KP: kitchen patrol 3 register scores like that: to have
scores like that on official lists 4 complacent: self-satisfied

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Contemporary College English
26
that are considered worthy of answers by the people who made up the intelligence tests— people with intellectual bents
to mine?
For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than
estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong wit
hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals2, and listened to his pronouncements as though
divine oracles3—and he always fixed my car.
Well, then suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, o
almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I’d prove myself a moron4. And I’d be a moron, too.
where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents5 but had to do something intricate6 or hard, workin
hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact th
subsection of that society has managed to foist7 itself on the rest as an arbiter8 of such matters.
Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head f
the automobile hood to say: “Doc, a deaf- and-dumb guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put tw
together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shoo
and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and
Doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?”
Indulgently9, I lifted my right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair ma
raucously10 and said, “Why, you dumb jerk, he used his voice and asked for them.” Then he said, smugly11, “I’ve been
on all my customers today.” “Did you catch many?” I asked. “Quite a few,” he said, “but I knew for sure I’d catch you
that?” I asked. “Because you’re goddamned educated, Doc, I knew you couldn’t be very smart.”

1 bent: (fml) special natural skill or interest in a particular area 2 its vitals: the essential parts of the car 3
divine oracles: prophecies, foretelling the future 4 moron: a person of below-average intelligence 5 verbal
talents: talents for using words 6 intricate: complicated, elaborate 7 foist: to impose by deception; force sb
to accept sth undesirable 8 arbiter: a person who settles disputes 9 indulgently: giving in 10 raucously:
loudly 11 smugly: in a self-satisfied way
Unit 1And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there. (from “What Is Intelligence, Anyway?” by Isaac Asimov)

Writing

Write an essay of about 400 words on the topic: What Kind of Thinker Am I?
 Poem of the Week The Arrow and the Song
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For
who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of
song?

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28
上并不奇怪。
Long, long afterward, in an oak I
found the arrow, still unbroke; And
the song from beginning to end, I
我对着天轻唱歌一支, 落
found again in the heart of a friend.
到人间何处我不知; 谁有
目光敏锐而又强, 能跟上
About the Poet 歌声展翅飞翔。
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was the best-loved American poet of his time. He
wrote on profound as well as simple themes. He created poetry out of everyday
experiences and saw beauty in everything from a ruined castle to a blacksmith shop. In 很久很久以后橡树前, 我
such familiar things as the old clock on the stairs, the bridge from Cambridge to Boston, 找到完好如初的箭; 而那
or a fire of driftwood, he found unexpected meanings. But Longfellow also loved the
romantic memories of America’s past and remains one of the most quoted of American 支歌儿从始至终 我发现在
朋友的心中。
poets.箭与歌

亨利·沃兹沃思·朗费罗

我向空中射出箭一枝, 落
到地上何处我不知; 它飕
飕飞得如此之快 视线跟不

Text The Pleasures B

Unit 1

of Learning Gilbert Highet 1

1 As most schools are set up today, learning is compulsory. It is an Ought, even worse, a Must, enforced by regular hours and rigi
the young sneer at the Oughts and resist the Musts with all their energy. The feeling often lasts through a lifetime. For too man
appears to be a surrender of our own will to external direction, a sort of enslavement.
2 This is a mistake. Learning is a natural pleasure, inborn and instinctive, one of the essential pleasures of the human race. Watch
an age too young to have had any mental habits implanted by training. Some delightful films made by the late Dr Arnold Gesell of
show little creatures who can barely
29 talk investigating problems with all the zeal and excitement of explorers, making discoveries with the passion and absorption
scientists. At the end of each successful investigation, there comes over each tiny face an expression of pure heart-felt pleasure.
3 When Archimedes2 discovered the principle of specific gravity by observing his own displacement of water in a bathtub, he
delight, shouting, “Eureka, Eureka!” (“I have found it, I have found it!”) The instinct which prompted his outburst, and the joy of
are possessed by all children.
4 But if the pleasure of learning is universal, why are there so many dull, incurious people in the world? It is because they were m
teaching, by isolation, by surrender
1 Gilbert Highet (1906–1978): Scottish American scholar, poet, writer, and teacher. He was born in Scotland and educated at the University o
Oxford University. From 1932 to 1936 he taught at St. John’s College, Oxford; he then accepted an appointment at Columbia University, whe
and Latin literature for thirty years. Highet’s 14 books include The Classical Tradition: Greek and Roman Influences on Western Literature an
Profession: The Joys and Teaching and Learning (1976), from which the text is adapted. 2 Archimedes (c. 287–c. 212 BC): Greek mathemat
who discovered Archimedes’ Principle, the fact that when you put an object in a liquid, it seems to weigh less by a certain amount, and this am
the weight of the liquid which it has taken the place of. A well-known legend says that he discovered this while in the bath, and jumped out of
through the streets shouting “Eureka! (=I have found it!)”
Contemporary College English
30
to routine, sometimes, too, by the
receive all kinds of experiences. One of pressure of hard work and poverty, or
the best informed men I ever knew was by the toxin1 of riches, with all their
a cowboy who rarely read a newspaper
ephemeral2 and trivial delights. With
and never a book, but who had ridden luck, resolution and guidance, however,
many thousands of miles through the human mind can survive not only
one of the western states. He knew poverty but even wealth.
his state as thoroughly as a surgeon
5 This pleasure is not confined to learning

knows the human body. He loved it;

from textbooks, which are too often
and understood it. Not a mountain, not
tedious. But it does include learning
a canyon which had not much to tell
from books. Sometimes, when I stand
him, not a change in the weather that
in a big library like the Library
he could not interpret. And so, among
of Congress3, or Butler Library at
the pleasures of learning, we should
Columbia, and gaze round me at
include travel, travel with an open mind,
the millions of books, I feel a sober,
an alert eye and a wish to understand
earnest delight hard to convey except
other peoples, other places, rather than
by a metaphor. These are not lumps of
looking in them for a mirror image of
lifeless paper, but minds alive in the
oneself. If I were a young man today, I
shelves. From each of them goes out its
should resolve to see—no, to learn—all
own voice, as inaudible as the streams
the 50 states before I was 35.
of sound conveyed by electric waves
7 Learning also means learning to beyond the range of our hearing, and
practice, or at least to appreciate an art. just as the touch of a button on our
Every new art you learn appears like stereo will fill the room with music, so
a new window on the universe; it is by opening one of these volumes, one
like acquiring a new sense. Because I can call into range a voice far distant
was born and brought up in Glasgow, in time and pace, and hear it speaking,
Scotland, a hideous 19th century mind to mind, heart to heart.
industrial city, I did not understand the
6 But, far beyond books, learning means
slightest thing about architecture until
keeping the mind open and active to
I was in my 20s. Since then, I have
1 toxin: a poisonous substance, esp. one that is produced by bacteria in plants and animals 2 ephemeral: (fml) lasting or used for only a short
the Library of Congress: the largest library in the US in Washington, D.C. In addition to serving as a reference source for members of Congr
officers of the government, the Library of Congress is open to the public and has become an outstanding institution among the learned instituti
with magnificent collections of books, manuscripts, music, prints, and maps.
Unit 1learned a little about the art, and it has been a constant delight.
8 Crafts, too, are well worth exploring. A friend of mine took up book-binding because his doctor ordered him to do something
him relaxation and activity without tension. It was a difficult challenge at first, but he gradually learned to square off the paper and
the pages, fasten on the backstrip, and maintain precision and neatness throughout.
9 Within a few years, this initially rather dull hobby had led him into fresh fields of enjoyment. He began to collect fine books f

centuries, he developed an interest in printing; eventually, he started a private press and had the joy of producing his own eleg
other crafts there are, and most of them contain one essential pleasure, the pleasure of making something that will last.
10 As for reading books, this contains two different delights. One is the pleasure of apprehending the unexpected, such as when

author who has a new vision of the world. The

31 other pleasure is of deepening one’s knowledge of a special field. One might enjoy reading about the Civil War, and, then be
particularly moving
part of it—the underground railway1, say, which carried escaping slaves northward to freedom. One would then be impelled
way
stations2 along the route, reconstructing the lives of those resolute organizers
and thankful fugitives3.
11 Tradition says that Ptolemy4, the great astronomer of the Greek and Roman world, worked peacefully in his observatory und
of northern Egypt for 40 years. Many and great were his explorations of the starry universe. For instance, he described
astronomical refraction5 in a way that was not improved for over 1,000 years. Ptolemy wrote just one poem, but it expressed his
Mortal I know I am, short-lived: and yet,
whenever I watch the multitude6 of swirling stars, then I no longer tread this earth, but rise to feast with God,
1 the underground railway: an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to es
and Canada with the aid of abolitionists (people who wanted to stop slavery) and allies who were sympathetic to their cause 2 way station: a s
a journey 3 fugitive: a person who is running away or hiding from the police or a dangerous situation 4 Ptolemy (c. AD 90 – c. AD 168): Gre
mathematician, and geographer who worked and
lived in Egypt 托勒密 5 refraction: 折射 6 multitude: an extremely large number of things or people
Contemporary College English
32
and enjoy the food of the immortals.
Man has the capacity to attain it; but to
12 Learning extends our lives (as Ptolemy
achieve it depends on his own efforts. It
said) into new dimensions. It is
needs long, deliberate effort of the mind
cumulative1. Instead of diminishing, in
and the emotions, and even the body.
time, like health and strength, its returns
15 During our earthly life, the body dies; go on increasing, provided...

even the emotions become duller. But

13 Provided that you aim throughout
the mind in most of us continues to live,
your life, as you continue learning,
and even grows more lively and active,
to integrate your thought, to make it
enjoys itself more, works and plays with
harmonious. If you happen to be an
more expansion and delight.
engineer and also enjoy singing in a glee
16 Many peoples have played themselves to club2, connect these two activities. They
death, or eaten, and drunk themselves to unite in you; they are not in conflict.
death. Nobody has ever thought himself Both choral singing and engineering
to death. The chief danger confronting are examples of the architectonic ability
us is not age. It is laziness, sloth, routine, of man: of his power to make a large
stupidity—forcing their way in like plan and to convey it clearly to others.
wind through the shutters, seeping into Both are aesthetic and depend much
the cellar like swamp water. Many who on symmetry. Think about them not as
avoid learning, or abandon it, find that though they were dissociated, but as
life is drained dry. They spend 30 years though each were one aspect of a single
in a chair looking glumly out at the sand unity. You will do them better, and be
and the ocean; on a porch swing waiting happier.
for somebody to drive down the road.
14 Much unhappiness has been suffered by
But that is not how to live.
those people who have never recognized
17 No learner has ever run short of subjects that it is as necessary to make
to explore. The pleasures of learning themselves into whole and harmonious
are indeed pleasures. In fact, the word personalities as to keep themselves
should be changed. The true name is
clean, healthy and financially solvent3.
happiness. You can live longest and best Wholeness of the mind and spirit is not
and most rewardingly by attaining and a quality conferred by nature, or by God.
preserving the happiness of learning. It is like health, virtue and knowledge.
(1,425 words)
1 cumulative: accumulative, gradually piled up 积储的;积累的 2 glee club: (AmE) a group of people who sing together for enjoyment 3 so
debts